(in)visible

seventeen

A couple days after that, Lyanna was walking home from a big shopping trip. Christmas was coming up in three days, and because Rebecca's parents were going away to visit distant relatives, Lyanna had decided to stay home with her. Luke and Calum were coming over as well, and she had invited Michael too.

Hauling big bags full of gifts through the snow was less than pleasant. Luckily she was almost home, and she could warm up on the couch with a nice steaming cup of coffee.

She turned a corner, only to see Ashton coming right up to her. He was looking down at his feet, and he hadn't seen her yet. Only when he almost bumped into her, he glanced up, and immediately his eyes widened.

"Hey," she carefully said.

She had been thinking about what had happened at the party and the day after a lot lately. She was still really mad at Ashton, but she had decided she would be civil towards him, because she didn't think she could take it if he were to slip back into his old hateful behaviour.

He said nothing, and just stood still for a second, looking at her. There was sadness in his eyes, and all of the sudden she wondered if maybe he hadn't been lying about what happened at the party. But that meant Michael had been lying, and why would he do that?

It made no sense.

He seemed to wait for her to say something else, but she was speechless. Her thoughts were running wild, but somehow, she couldn't find the words to say what she really wanted. She just stood there, opening and closing her mouth like a total dumbass.

He shook his head, more to himself than in reaction to her it seemed, and then he walked past her. After a second, her brain finally understood what it wanted.

"Wait!" she called after him.

He stopped but only looked over his shoulder. His hair was pushed back, and Lyanna could see his hazel eyes clearly, and suddenly, she remembered looking at him while drunk, and thinking how attractive he was. Then it was gone. She didn't remember the surroundings or the situation or anything, it was just a flash of a memory. Just the thought, 'Damn, he's hot' going through her head.

It was confusing, and what she was going to say to him came out wrong and twisted.

"Are you going home for Christmas?"

He seemed confused by the question as well. After a moment he just shook his head.

"Can't afford it," he simply said.

He waited a heartbeat longer, and it was almost as if he wanted to say something, or wanted her to say something more, but when nothing happened, he turned and walked away.

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When she got home, and finally slumped down on the couch with a steaming mug of caramel coffee, she suddenly felt a rush of overwhelming sadness. She wanted to tell Sparrow about her weird walk in with Ashton, but she couldn't. He still didn't have a phone, or if he did, she didn't have the number.

Suddenly, it hit her. She would give him a phone for Christmas. It was one less worry for him, and she could at least try to contact him again. Whether he wanted her to or not.

How to get it to him was a bit of a problem, but she decided she would just leave it out at the cabin for him to find. If it was just a cheap phone so that he could text and call again, it didn't matter if he never found it.

An hour later, she was standing in the cabin, on the wrong side of the wall, looking out over the tiny lake. It was frozen over, but inside there wasn't any snow, luckily.

She had bought a cheap phone and made sure that it's bills were covered for the next two months. She had entered the new number in her own phone, and her phone number in the phone for Sparrow, under her real name, because apparently somehow he knew who she was.

But now she was a bit lost. She had brought a little gift bag as well, in which she had put the charger, and she had attached a note saying 'for Sparrow, Merry Christmas' but she wasn't quite sure what exactly she wanted to say to him.

In the end, she decided to text him.

To: Sparrow

Dear Sparrow, I hope you don't mind I got you a Christmas gift. Phones are essential nowadays, you know. I paid it's bills two months in advance, you have unlimited texting and calling for now. Anyway, I'm not really sure how you know who I am, but I guess it doesn't matter. I miss you, I want to talk to you again. You make me feel safe, and that's weird, because I still have no idea who you are. Please please please text me when you find this. I want to talk this out. Merry Christmas, Lyanna

She saw the screen light up when the text came in on the cheap phone, and she sighed before putting it in the gift bag.

Then she placed it on the floor against the wall, where he always sat when they talked, and walked away.